Twenty years ago, while I was putting the finishing touches on my college entrance essays, lupus patients everywhere were receiving grim news: 40 percent of people diagnosed with lupus were NOT expected to live more than 3 years.

Today, more lupus patients than ever can expect to live a normal life span. Yet these facts remain:

There is no cure.

More than 1.5 million Americans have it.

Even “mild” cases can be debilitating and if not monitored appropriately, life-threatening.

Prior to the FDA-approval of Benlysta in 2011, it had been 50 years (!!!) since a new lupus therapy had been introduced.

More than 90 percent of people with lupus are women.

Women of color are 2-3 times more at risk for lupus than Caucasians.

Lupus research is underfunded and poorly understood, despite the disease’s prevalence.

So what can be done about this disease which has no known cause, few medicines, and no cure?

To me, that answer is simple: Support lupus research.

Supporting lupus research is a win for everyone. Why?

The incidence of autoimmune disease is rising. The National Institutes of Health estimate, “up to 23.5 million Americans have an autoimmune disorder,” (cancer affects up to 9 million; heart disease = 22 million).

An increased understanding of immune system activity can benefit us beyond lupus — people who receive transplants, AIDS patients, cancer patients, and patients of infectious disease are also likely to benefit from increase knowledge.

Help LC Support the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) Harness the “Power of 10” Campaign

Advance lupus research by getting informed and getting involved. According to the LRI, lupus is considered to be the scientific prototype for autoimmune research because the immune system can attack any part of the body. When scientists unlock lupus, the door may open for some 100 other autoimmune diseases affecting millions of people.

Lupus patients, consider joining a clinical trial. Every medication we currently take was approved because of volunteers.

Donate. Gifts of any size can make a large impact. I just sent a text that said LUPUS to 50555 to make a $10 donation to the Lupus Research Institute (92 cents of every dollar goes directly to research).

Before my doctor handed me that slip of paper saying “systemic lupus erythematosus,” I knew nothing about lupus. The last few years have been eye-opening to me in terms of the number of people who suffer (often in silence), the misunderstanding of autoimmune disease, the lack of tolerance we as a society have for chronic illness, and the lack of understanding we have about systemic disease. We have a lot to learn. Any donation helps.

Help those with lupus on a limited budget

As a 22-year-old student with lupus who living on her own, Tatiana Huffman doesn’t have a lot of extra money.

“Right now all of my money goes toward paying for school and paying my medical bills,” Huffman said.

“It is very overwhelming and sometimes depressing. Unlike most of my friends I can’t hang out at the mall and shop all because I literally have no money,” Huffman said. “My body physically can’t do the things that most 22 years old are doing. And shopping is not a necessity in my life, whereas my health is my main priority. At 22, health issues aren’t what most young woman have to deal with.”

Huffman was diagnosed with lupus at 19. Her kidneys are impacted and she experiences high fevers, rashes and a lot of pain.

Lupus Colorado is always looking for ways to expand our reach to better meet the needs of people like Huffman in our state. She recently received assistance from Lupus Colorado.

For more than 40 years, Lupus Colorado has served as a resource for not only the understanding of the signs, symptoms, treatments, and outlook for the disease, but also helping patients to find both emotional and practical support during their times of need.

Through the use of an assistance fund, Lupus Colorado has been able to help individuals and their families affected by lupus with their utility, medical and dental bills, eye glasses, bus passes, and groceries, even purchasing beds for two individuals with lupus who had been sleeping on the floor. Lupus Colorado has tools that can help Coloradans with the disease. But they can’t do it alone. With help from supporters like you, Lupus Colorado can replenish the assistance fund and continue to serve as a resource for individuals and families affected by lupus.

“The Emergency Financial Assistance Fund was such a blessing,” Huffman said. “Right after Gayna called, I immediately said a prayer just thanking God. This was such a blessing. Words cannot even describe how it came at such perfect timing. I am just so grateful.”

First Class (Pass)

On a recent trip, I flew an airline that I rarely fly. The feeling was oddly familiar, like something from the past, when I heard the boarding call for first class.

An uncomfortable cringe crept through me, and I thought, “Really…I thought the class structure was history, passé in our modern thinking of equality. I took my aisle seat in row 2 of coach, “second class,” I bemused, and watched through the silvery sheer curtain separating those 12 “special” passengers from us common folk.

As I sipped cheap wine, for which I was charged, from a generic plastic cup, I saw them receiving complimentary bottled wine in stemware. I didn’t even get peanuts, but first-class was served a full meal on china with real silverware. One attendant catered to them solely, while two attendants scrambled to serve the remaining 138 passengers in coach. An older gentleman even put his hands on the shoulders of the first class attendant and whispered something in her ear, reminiscent of the 60’s and 70’s when women were “Girl Fridays,” to men of stature. I watched with interest but dismay at this decades-old behavior that seemed so inappropriate now. I felt like a “have not,” watching the “haves,” from the outside.

Granted, people have the right to a bigger seat, up front if they want, and other special perks for which they pay extra. But when the announcement was made that the front lavatory was for first class only, it reminded me of the signs on restrooms and restaurants in decades past that prohibited blacks and Jews from entering.

What does this have to do with lupus? There are many different aspects to discrimination, and we who have health problems face our share. We struggle with financial hardships because of inability to work and higher than usual health care expenses. We face on-the-job discrimination, and 90 percent of us are women, “Girls Sunday through Saturday,” on duty 24/7 for our families, in spite of our illness. Men with lupus are stigmatized because it is not deemed “masculine,” in our society to be ill or not function as the “breadwinner.” We are all first class though in our effort and fortitude to swim upstream against the odds of unpredictable flares, pain, and horrendous fatigue.

How can we eliminate these discriminatory relics from the past, including class delineations, gender and racial inequalities, and even the stigma associated with illness or handicaps? I, for one, am going to send this article to the CEO of unnamed airline, and continue to support airlines whose passengers are treated equally, with special assistance to the elderly, ill, handicapped, and families with small children. Those airlines where passengers can pay for extras discreetly from any seat, and there is no silvery curtain separating people based on wealth, stature or class. I would prefer our military men and women get special perks for their committed service to maintain our freedoms.

Now that I am stiff from sitting, hurting all over, and have a full bladder, I’ll begin my long journey from row 2 to 26 where a good second class girl can stand in line waiting for the back lavatory. On your next trip, be selective, and have a nice flight!

Planning for life

Dear Gentle Readers,
I recently took a course on Meaningful Preparation for End of Life Choices.

You might think that this was a course about death. On the contrary, it was a course about life and how you can plan the time you have left to prepare for your death and to live well during the time you have left. For some of you it will be a brief time; for others it will be decades. For some it will be a “good” death; for others it will be a “bad” one. We have within our power the options to decide what we want and to put in place those things that will make the end a meaningful and pleasant experience.

First, we must remember that lupus is a lifelong illness, and no matter how we plan our future, lupus may outsmart us on any given day. We may plan a vacation and find that we are spending those beautiful vacation days in the hospital. Been there, done that. Second, we must always be prepared for a lupus flare. That means that when we plan a trip, we must be ever mindful of the things we must do to plan for a great vacation. That is bring all the pills you need for every day of your trip and a few days extra in case of a trip delay. Get the name of a doctor you can see in the place you are going. Pack lightly and only what you can carry. If you are going on an escorted tour, tell the tour director of your special needs if any. Shorter trips are more doable that longer ones because fatigue is a large part of lupus.

The above might be called our bucket list, the list of places you want to see and the things you want to do in the time you have left. Make that list. Prioritize that list. Start to plan for the first thing on your list. By the way, you can always re-prioritize your list.

Get your affairs in order. This means that you need to have a will. You need to have a durable medical power of attorney and an Advanced Directive. An ethical will would be great to have. How to get this done the best way is to go to an attorney that specializes in drafting wills and other legal documents and ask her to help you with your important documents. Wills can always be changed and so can other legal papers, so start with one and think about it for a while. If it suits your needs and wishes, great. If not, you can always change it.

You may also want to put a planned funeral in place so that your children or other heirs do not need to have to deal with this. There are so many things that need to be done that some advanced planning is very helpful.

OK, now that you have done all this, it’s time for some fun. We’ve talked about the end of life, so now let’s talk about between now and then. Hopefully you will have many good days with your lupus at bay. Think about what you would like to do with that time. For me, volunteering is really important. I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience in my working years and I want to share this with some organizations that could use my help.

As you know, I write columns for the Lupus newsletter. I have served on the board of the Lupus Foundation. Now I volunteer for the Arthritis Foundation and give my time and efforts to advocating for issues that are important to people with arthritis and lupus. I go to Congress and ask our Senators and Representatives to consider bills that will give money for Arthritis research and for reducing the amount of money patients have to pay for co-pays on expensive drugs.

You can choose different ways to give back to your community that has helped you along the way to making lupus easier for you to manage. Lots of places need your help. You can work from home on the telephone. You can work in the office of an organization that needs your help. You can write letters to your Members of Congress asking for their help on issues of importance to you. You can help at your church or synagogue. Even if you can only give a small amount of time, please don’t hesitate to give it.

I’m going to end this column with a poem written by Robert N. Test, American Poet (1926-1994),who assisted in developing organ transplantation.

To Remember Me Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby’s face, or love in the eyes of a woman. Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain. Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play. Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week. Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk. If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses, and all prejudice against my fellow man. Give my sins to the devil. Give my soul to God. If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who need you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.

And each takes only a few minutes (and are mostly self-serving). I promise.

1) Go shopping! I’ll be putting my Amazon Prime account to good use this week by specifying Lupus Colorado (under its incorporation name of Lupus Foundation of Colorado) as the beneficiary. In addition to the regular portion of donations, Lupus Colorado will receive an extra $5 for each donation. Learn more.

2) Make room for your Amazon purchases (and have someone ELSE pick up the stuff!). Lupus Colorado depends on your support to help the individuals and families impacted by this lupus. Meet spring with a cleaner house and a do-gooder spirit by donating your unwanted clothes, goods, and household items by calling 303-231-9337. Learn more.

3) Become an armchair advocate. While you’re waiting for your lives on Candy Crush to reset (I’m looking at you, dear husband!), visit http://www.congressweb.com/lri. There you’ll find info on increasing access to medications that already exist and increasing funding for important research. Our executive director is in Washington, D.C., now. Let’s show her that we’ve got her back.

These are just a few simple ideas to get you into support mode. As always, thanks for supporting me and all the people who benefit from the amazing work of Lupus Colorado.

Since the first of the year, I’ve been on a mission to reduce clutter in my life. I’ve identified an area of messiness that may resonate with you:

Piles and piles of empty prescription bottles.

Everytime I throw one of those little buggers into the recycling bin, a part of me freaks out: It’s so useable! I have so many! There’s got to be a better way!

And, a quick search revealed an article from Consumer Reports saying curbside programs aren’t a guarantee that pill bottles will be recycled (even though most are a #5 plastic, there’s something about their size makes it hard for them to sort).

So now I feel even more motivated to find ways to reuse prescription pill bottles. Considering I see my pharmacist for a minimum of five ‘scripts a month, it’s a Must Do on my task list.

It’s been too long, but I’m back. And I need your help. First, a quick update.

Did you know Lupus Colorado has a new executive director? We said goodbye to Debbie Lynch in 2013, who recently retired after many years at the helm of LC. She’ll be greatly missed, but she’s left us all in great hands. I recently met with our new director, Inez Robinson. There’s one thing I know for sure: 2014 will be an exciting year.

Second, I’ll continue to write this blog. We’ve already built a nice community, but let’s be clear: This blog is about you. So think of me as your own personal roving reporter. What information can I provide to that would make living with lupus easier for you?

It’s easy to leave feedback. It takes five minutes and it’ll give me peace of mind that my babbling is of interest and helpful.

Together, let’s continue building a community of people affected by lupus in Colorado and beyond. My goal is to bring together patients, caregivers, community members, and even health care providers, in the interest of making life with a chronic illness a little bit better.